Sunday, February 6, the Krewe of Highland Parade will roll north on Creswell St. through the historic Highland neighborhood of Shreveport.
The 2005 parade will almost double last year's number of entries of dilatory floats, roaring and buzzing vehicles and amusingly-clad groups of people parading, according to Matthew Linn, proprietor of Columbia Cafe and founder of the krewe.
To accomodate the growth in paraders the route has been lengthened. The return route will include a jog on Herndon and Olive and a considerable stretch on Centenary Blvd.
The mood of the crowd along the Highland route has been celebrated in literature and song ("Utopia," Thomas More, and "Mellow Yellow," Donovan Leitch). Tranquility seems pervasive. While we haven't ventured far from the Creswell at Dalzell area, we have attended the parade for many years.
There is something witty about the juxtaposition of giant, manufactured floats (the Gemini floats are made by New Orleans' famous Blaine Kern company) with nattily-attired walking groups such as the one led by artist Bruce Allen.
One of the highly-watched institutions in the parade: the Krewe of BBQ, the Jeff Clark family Hot Dog float. They cook hot dogs on their float and keep them in heated containers until they are thrown. Thus their friends the Baucums, whose float follows the Clarks', throw a companion item: moon pies. "That's lunch and dessert," explained teen Madeline Baucum.
You will enjoy photos from the 2004 Highland parade as shot by the Times' Robert Ruiz. There's a parade map at the Highland Area Partnership site.
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